What comes to your mind when you’re in Berlin and someone says “communism”? The Wall? GDR? Hotspot of the Cold War?
All of these things are an important portion of our tour, but they’re only a part of the topic called “communism & socialism”. So our goal is more ambitious than just showing you the Berlin Wall and mentioning a couple of chapters of the Cold War history. We want to give you a holistic understanding of one of the most revolutionary and controversial ideological movements in world history.
How? By way of having a chronological journey from the 19th to 21st century and covering all the main chapters of the history of German communism. You will learn about the fathers of communist ideas – K. Marx & F. Engels and what they really taught about. You’ll hear the story of R. Luxembourg & K. Liebknecht and understand their role in a political struggle that tore German society apart 100 years ago and thus also helped A. Hitler rise to power. You’ll see and compare the Soviet model of socialism exported to Germany after WWII: you’ll experience it architecturally, grasp it geopolitically and perceive it through people’s life stories. Finally, we’ll talk about leftwing movements today.
After this 3 hours Walkative journey, you’ll form a historical Gestalt of communist & socialist ideas! Both in Germany and Europe (and even beyond). Both before and after WWII. Long before and long after.
You will discover:
• Marx-Engels Forum – a memorial dedicated to the fathers of communist ideas
• Liebknecht balcony – a place of the proclamation of the Free Socialist Republic of Germany
• Volksbühne at the Rosa Luxemburg Platz – formerly the most representative theatre in Berlin
• Karl Marx Allee – the most impressive Stalinist architecture in Germany
• Frankfurter Tor – an example of further development of socialist ideas in East Germany
• The Berlin Wall (East Side Gallery) – the longest remaining part of the notorious border between East and West
